Fossil Friday, fossil jacket. Before a fossil can be completely removed from the dig site, a plaster jacket is applied to it to protect it. When the fossil is brought back to the museum the jacket is removed and prep work can begin.

Henry W. Nichols, Chief Curator of Geology, and Miss Caroline Ryder, examine the Benld meteorite, which fell in September, 1938, and is only the second such visitor from outer space on record in Illinois. Geology specimen ME2259